Year 7 - Science
Reflecting light from mirrors
Sound, light and vision
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores sound and light waves, including frequencies, echoes, reflection, absorption, and the need for a medium for sound to travel. It also compares light and matter waves, investigates light transmission and colour, and examines wave properties and effects.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to investigate the reflection of light from mirrors by tracing beams of light and measuring angles, and compare results to the known laws of reflection.
Key Notes
- Light travelling in one direction (along a ray) that hits a mirror reflects (bounces off the mirror) in one direction.
- The 'normal' is an imaginary line drawn at 90° to the point of reflection.
- The angles of incidence and reflection are measured to the normal.
- The angle of reflection is always equal to the angle of incidence, the other side of the normal.
- On a graph, a line of best fit highlights the main pattern of the data, ignoring small errors.
Vocabulary To Learn
- protractor: a device used to measure angles
- normal: another way of saying 'at 90°' - a 'normal line' is at 90° to a surface
- reflect: to reflect off a surface means to hit the surface and 'bounce' off
- incident: an adjective meaning 'incoming'
- angle of incidence: the angle between the incident ray and the normal when light hits a mirror
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Some pupils think that a ray of light can reflect off at an angle different to that at which it hits a plane mirror and perhaps in several directions.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Light travelling in one direction (along a ray) that hits a mirror reflects (bounces off the mirror) in one direction. The 'normal' is an imaginary line drawn at 90° to the point of reflection.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'protractor'
a device used to measure angles. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Some pupils think that a ray of light can reflect off at an angle different to that at which it hits a plane mirror and perhaps in several directions. Correction: Give pupils practical experience of measuring the angles at which light reflects off a plane mirror to confirm the correct rules; share results to confirm; and discuss potential sources of error that may lead to small discrepancies.
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